Blue Skies
by 27SecondsFromInsanity
Summary: When some girl called Laila Lane drops into the Exorcists' lives, they didn't expect her to drag them into her world with her. School. A world that they thought they'd had to sacrifice after becoming Exorcists. Good thing Laila's a Noah then, huh? WiselyXLenalee LaviXOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:- So, this is my first -Man fic and I really hope you enjoy it! This idea has been in my head for a LOOONG time. To all you wonderful people who are actually reading this...thing, remember to read and REVIEW! :D **

**Disclaimer:- I don't own -Man. If I did, Wisely would be animated. **

* * *

"I'm lost, aren't I." The girl stops and surveys the Tokyo street around her. She'd been wandering aimlessly for the past few hours, completely confident in her abilities to find her way back to her original location. Her navigational skills have failed her, it seems. She'd been told multiple times to stay put and to not wander off. But, being the stupid idiot she is, she'd decided that she knew better and went sightseeing. Now, she's lost and she hates herself.

There's a statue of a dog with a couple of tourists taking photographs of it, the shutters of their cameras clicking and flashing in quick succession. They'd proceed to inspect the picture then either take another or leave the statue in search of another attraction. The girl doesn't know the name of the statue or what is so special about it. All it looks like is a clumsily carved lump of rock, in her opinion. Curious and looking closer, she can see the word 'HACHIKO' printed on a plaque beneath the dog-rock. Curiosity satisfied, the girl continues walking down the street. She imagines what her friends will say when - if - she eventually makes it back.

"Stay at the venue, Laila!" She imitates her friends' voices, raising her own an octave and waving her hands mockingly.

"Don't get lost again, Laila! Bad things always happen, Laila!" She kicks a rock with the tip of her boot. It's a black, lace up ankle boot which is one of a pair given to Laila by her grandmother. They're made from leather which had taken her grandmother an age to save up for and were given to her for her fifteenth birthday last year. They're her favourites. She'd recently turned sixteen on the 14th of February three months ago. Her friends thought it was romantic that she was born on Valentine's Day, Laila Lane just thought it was a bother. What with all the pink and the hearts and the roses and the love. Oh, and the cards! What's with those stupid cards? Nothing says 'I love you' like a bit of card with a teddy bear on the front and a corny message on the inside, apparently.

Sighing in frustration, Laila stops again and looks back the way she'd come. Hachiko is now crowded with a new batch of tourists taking pictures and locals lounging on the surrounding benches, talking and laughing with one another. There's a kid with bright orange hair and a pair of blue headphones hanging around his neck, his skinny arm hanging over the back of the bench, laughing with a girl whose dark-hair reaches to her chin and she straightens her black-framed glasses nonchalantly. She has her right arm wrapped around a stuffed animal of some kind. Laila thinks that it's supposed to be a cat but it looks more like a pig from this distance. Maybe the girl made it herself? It's obvious they're on a date and Laila smiles at them as the girl punches the boy's arm playfully and he laughs. No doubt that girl will receive a Valentine's card next year.

"Heh. They're cute together." Laila says to herself, turning around slowly, taking a step forward before a loud 'BOOOOMM!' stops her in her tracks. Whipping her body around, her eyes widen as she catches sight of an Akuma wrecking havoc on the street behind. Hachiko barely misses a bullet. There's two. One Level 2 and one Level 1, the Level 2 leering at people and cackling madly when they scream whilst the Level 1 mindlessly shoots at everything that moves.

The boy and girl are gone from the bench and are instead racing in Laila's direction, the boy leading with his hand wrapped tightly around the girl's wrist in a death grip. As they run, the boy accidentally bumps into Laila's shoulder and the two red-heads glance at each other. The boy's blue eyes are filled with panic and what looks a little bit like fear but he puts a brave face on for the benefit of the girl who squeaks in fright as a fleeing man is shot then disintegrates into grey dust. It wouldn't do for him to act scared, Laila thinks, it'd just panic the girl more.

"You better run!" The boy yells to Laila as he and the girl take off down the street, disappearing from sight.

Miraculously, Hachiko is still standing, having avoided every bullet sent it's way. The street is almost completely vacated now except for the large amount of dust piles dotted across the ground. A camera sits atop one close to the statue, tilted slightly where the dust isn't supporting it's weight. A bright red parka and a New York Yankees cap lie close by, obviously having belonged to the dust pile. The camera's lense is broken.

A tear slowly makes it's way down her cheek, it feels warm against her cold skin and she doesn't bother to wipe it away. The lone tear drops from her jaw and to the ground, creating a tiny damp splotch on the concrete. There's nothing she can do. If she destroys them, their souls will fall into non-redemption. If she doesn't, they'll kill more people. What if it's those two kids that they kill next? They were just two innocent kids who's date had just been completely ruined by two insane killing-machines. Dammit, where the hell is an exorcist when you need them?

A slight whimpering catches Laila's attention and her eyes search the area before finally coming to rest on the dog-rock. Taking a side-step, Laila can clearly see the form of a little boy cowering behind the statue, tears streaming down his cheeks and his small hands clutching the statue base tightly. The Akuma don't seem to have noticed him, the Level 2 searching the empty area for any more human life and the Level 1 just shooting everything. With each crack of the gun, the boy tenses, eyes shut tight.

"Oh God, I can't just leave him here.." Laila moans, eyes darting from the Akuma to the boy then back again. She knows an Akuma bullet won't affect her if hit but..she doesn't want to risk it. Even if she doesn't turn to dust, being shot by an Akuma bullet will still be insanely painful and Laila feels she's right in trying to avoid them. Taking a single step forward, Laila quickly makes sure the Akuma aren't looking her way before dashing across the square to where the boy is crouched. He jumps in fright when she taps him lightly on the shoulder but the startled look on his face melts away when he realises its not another death-machine.

"Hey," Laila whispers, looking the boy in the eyes, his blue ones meeting her brown, "What're you doing?" The boy doesn't say anything just stares at her with his turquoise eyes. He's not Japanese, that much is obvious, so he must be the child of one of the tourist families. His eyes are wider, his skin is lighter and his spiky brown hair sticks up in all directions giving him the impression of just being dragged through a hedge backwards. He's older than Laila had originally thought, looking about 9 or 10 in age.

"Shouldn't you be getting outta here?" Laila continues, smiling in an attempt to calm the kid.

"I-I can't.." The boy eventually whispers in reply, increasing his grip on the statue.

"Looks like we're both stuck here then, huh?"

"What?"

"Well, I'm not leaving here without you. It'd be wrong."

"..really?.."

"Of course. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I'd left you here in the middle of this mess." Laila replies quietly, careful not to alert the Akuma to their presence. Her companion says nothing just shifts a little when Laila sits down next to him, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"What's your name?"

"...Zack.."

"I'm Laila, pleased to meet you Zack."

Laila knows she won't be able to make it out of here with Zack without the Akuma noticing them and shooting. Sure, she'd make it out alive but Zack probably wouldn't be so lucky. So her only options are to wait until the Akuma lose interest and leave or wait for some exorcists to show up and slaughter them. Preferably the latter.

Zack has since let go of the statue and is staring straight ahead, his face grey with terror and grief. He sniffs and wipes at his tear-streaked cheeks.

Laila reaches out to take the boy's hand but quickly retracts her hand when her fingertips sting with the touch. Why does it hurt? Weird. Ignoring the obvious protest that her body is making against this, Laila grips the boy's hand tightly and he turns his head to blink at her. After a moment, Zack tightens his own grip on Laila's hand, holding it with just as much force and squeezing it tighter with each gunshot. There're more screams as the Akuma track down more people, giggling evilly with each kill.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine, you'll see." Laila murmurs gently as the boy rests his head against her shoulder.

* * *

**A/N:- So..thoughts? More characters will be introduced in the next few chapters or so. The boy and girl on the date are from one of my favourite video games the 'World Ends With You' or 'Its a Wonderful World'. If you've heard of it or played it, you're awesome. If not, buy it. Now. They're called Neku Sakuraba and Shiki Misaki. **

**Reviews make me happy! Please make my day and send me some REVIEWS! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:- Here it is! Chapter 2. Allen and the others will probably be introduced here. :D**

**So, yeah, read and PLEASE REVIEW. Anyone who reviews gets a free virtual hug! :D **

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The Akuma are still blundering around, cackling madly at civilians when they scream and finding amusement in destroying anything and everything they find. Somehow, Hachiko is still standing tall, as if defiant and protecting. They've expanded their reach to the Scramble which is just to the right of the statue and is also teeming with people. The Akuma are having the time of their lives. Shibuya is a never-ending stream of kills for them and with each kill, they feel stronger and stronger.

"Where is the Innocence...?" The Level 2 questions a woman whom it has pinned against a wall using it's giant claw. The woman doesn't have the sense to answer and instead she just shrieks and struggles against the akuma's grasp. Her screams are abruptly stopped, replaced by silence and a thump as her dead body hits the concrete.

Zack is trembling against Laila's shoulder, his knuckles white as he grips her small hand. Laila seems surprisingly calm, considering the situation she's in and Zack looks at her curiously. Why isn't she panicking like everyone else? Why does she just seem a little impatient? Doesn't this make her feel anything at all? Laila glances at him and smiles gently and he blinks.

"Are you alright?" She asks him.

"...yeah.."

"It shouldn't be too long now. So, don't worry. So long as they don't know we're here, we should be okay."

"What're you waiting for?"

"Something to show up which can destroy these things." Laila answers but says nothing else on the subject. Zack is about to press the matter and opens his mouth to speak but a loud 'CRAASSHH!' interrupts him.

Laila peers around the corner of the statue and is pleased to see that an exorcist has finally shown up. Her black hair is up in two glossy pigtails down her back and she swiftly destroys the Level 2 with one kick from her Innocence-infused boot. More Akuma are appearing now, sensing the Innocence and the girl is having trouble keeping up with them all. As soon as she destroys one, another takes it's place and Laila can see the exorcist tiring.

"Lenalee!" Laila - along with the exorcist - turn their attention to the voice and see a white-haired boy racing toward the Akuma, sword drawn and ready to fight. Suddenly, a shattering crash startles Zack and Laila they both whip their heads up to see a Level 1 leering down at them. It aims it's guns at them and Zack throws himself towards Laila, burying his face in her shoulder and she hugs him back despite the stabbing pain it causes and braces for impact. It never comes.

Opening her eyes, Laila finds a very confused Akuma firing bullet after bullet at them. Every bullet fired is deflected by some invisible shield, the bullet bouncing off of it and falling uselessly to the ground. Laila stares at it. Then she understands. That's why Hachiko hasn't been shot. That's why it hurts to touch Zack's skin. Oh Hell.

The Akuma lets out a slight yelp and attempts to move away but isn't fast enough to avoid the kick sent it's way. It blows up in a cloud of dust and poisonous gas. Lenalee lands easily and turns to her comrade.

"We should search for any survivors." She declares, looking at the boy opposite. He has since replaced the sword in his arm and deactivated his Innocence.

"Yeah. I doubt there'll be any though. What I'm wondering is why all these Akuma were doing here in the first place."

"Hm.. I don't know. But, look at that statue," Lenalee points to Hachiko and the boy's eyes follow, "It hasn't been shot. That's almost an impossibility in this kind of attack.."

"...D'ya think there's Innocence in it?"

"We should check it out, Allen."

"Right." Allen nods and the two Exorcists move towards the dog-rock.

The attack has ceased and Laila lets out a sigh of relief.

"Zack, it's over. You can let go of me now." Laila gently tries prise Zack's arms from around her neck. She doesn't notice when two Exorcists peer around the statue and jump in shock.

"S-Survivors!" Allen exclaims, pointing one blackened finger towards the two. Laila raises an eyebrow at him whilst Zack just stares at the ground. Lenalee, having regained her composure, glares at him.

"Allen, that's rude."

"Sorry.."

"Are you guys alright?" Lenalee wonders, crouching down and placing a hand on Zack's shoulder.

"..."

"Are you okay?" Lenalee asks Laila.

"Yeah, I'm good." Laila says casually, standing up and dragging Zack with her in the process, seeing as he's still attached to her neck and all. She brushes herself down and Zack finally lets go of her, resorting to standing behind her instead. Allen and Lenalee seem a little shocked at the girl's indifference and they look at each other.

"Y-You sure?" Allen asks, looking at the girl who runs her fingers through her thick red hair with a sigh. The hair reaches to her lower-back, wavy and shining in the afternoon sunlight.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Zack here is the one you should really be worrying about." Zack takes a step back at this and stares at his shoes. His cheeks are still tear-stained and dirt and grime stick to his skin.

"What's your name? I'm Lenalee Lee, by the way. The boy over there is my comrade, Allen Walker." Lenalee says to the girl, gesturing towards Allen and Laila smiles in reply.

"Laila. Laila Lane."

"And this is...Zack?" Zack nods.

"Are you guys siblings or..?"

"No, we met, like, ten minutes ago. I didn't want to leave him here on his own."

"Fair enough. So, are you two on holiday?" Lenalee asks and watches as Zack nods slowly.

"In a way. I'm here for work, actually but I wandered off from my friends." Laila replies, fiddling with the button on her green checked shirt. She has a white racerback on underneath which has smears of dirt and grime staining it.

"It's a miracle how you two survived, actually," Allen says, scratching an itchy spot on the back of his head and his white hair moves with the action, "How did you manage it?" Allen looks at the many deflected bullets lying on the ground surrounding Hachiko, Zack and Laila and counts twelve.

"I don't know," Laila answers, patting Zack's shoulder comfortingly. He's gazing at the pile of dust with the red parka and he strays away from her side for a moment.

"The bullets didn't seem like they could hit us. They kept firing and firing but it looked like they were deflected by something." Laila continues, crossing her arms over her chest.

Zack approaches the red parka, stopping just short of it and watching as it blows slightly in the breeze. Looking behind him, he sees the girl - Laila, he thinks her name is - talking to the two people who killed those...THINGS. She has a serious expression on her face as she recounts the story to the two, her eyes downcast. The other girl, Lenalee, she glances at Allen occasionally and he returns the looks, as if they're having a silent conversation. Allen suddenly looks his way and Zack quickly turns his head away, instead focusing in the dust pile in front of him. The abandoned camera glints in the light and Zack slowly bends down to pick it up, brushing it off and inspecting it closely. The lens is broken, a long silvery crack stretching straight across the diameter and the strap has snapped, leaving the ends fraying and the broken threads feel furry beneath Zack's fingertips as he strokes them softly.

Laila's voice is carried by the breeze and it drifts by Zack's ears. She's talking about the monsters still, telling the girl and boy about how the bullets couldn't hit them and how lucky it was. Lenalee asks a question that Zack doesn't catch and Laila answers her after a moment.

"Well, it's definitely not me." Zack quirks an eyebrow, thinking this an odd answer so what could the question have possibly been? Listening closer now, he begins walking back towards the group, holding the camera close to his body so as to not damage it more.

"How can you be sure?" Lenalee asks the red-head before her and Laila kicks a rock with the tip of her boot nonchalantly.

"It just isn't." Lenalee glances at Allen who shrugs helplessly.

"But there's no way for you to know.."

"There's no way that I'm that lucky. God hates me and I hate him so why would it ever be me?"

There's a moment of stunned silence which is suddenly shattered as Zack approaches them, hands clasped around an old-looking back camera, the cracked lens still extended and ready to take a photograph except, it won't be doing that anymore.

"What've you got there?" Allen wonders, recognising the camera from the dust pile with the red parka a couple of metres away. What does the kid want with it?

"A camera."

"D'ya mind if I ask why?" Allen smiles in that way that he does, all friendly and trustworthy.

"...It's my dad's." Allen opens his mouth and glances to the red parka which is steadily being blown further away from the dust pile, millimetre by millimetre.

"Oh."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:- Okay, here's Chapter 3! Thanks the follows and favs, I really appreciate them! :) **

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The four sit in a ramen shop, Lenalee with a bowl in front of her, slurping it elegantly whilst Allen stuffs himself with at least ten. Laila wonders where he puts it all. Zack decided that he didn't want anything and having just been part of an Akuma attack, neither Laila or the Exorcists can blame him. Laila had just opted for a bottle of water that she twirls beneath her fingers with it's base tilted against the wooden table.

Ten minutes earlier, Laila'd announced that she was going to find her friends, despite the Exorcists' protests. It was only after she'd taken a few steps away from the group, tried to phone her friends from a dark blue cellphone she'd fished out from her skinny jeans pocket which she quickly realised was dead that she'd decided to join them. Now, she's staring at the white-haired boy opposite her with wide brown eyes in a mixture of awe and disgust. Zack is too traumatised by everything to even feign interest and Lenalee just rolls her eyes with a smile and a small giggle.

"So. D'ya mind telling us what those things before were?" Laila suddenly voices, causing Lenalee and Allen to stop eating and look at her. Zack has looked up, obviously curious and looking for answers of his own. Of course, Laila already knows what Akuma are. She already knows what they do and what they're purpose is and who makes them and how he does it but...she can't let the Exorcists know that. If they did, she'd be locked up faster than she can even say 'akuma'.

"They're called Akuma. They're machines made by the Millennium Earl to help him take over the world," Allen explains, putting down his spoon and watching the two opposite closely. There's something up with this Laila girl. He just knows it, "Akuma are created when a living human in mourning over the death of a loved one makes a deal with the Millennium Earl to bring the soul of their loved one back. The Earl then orders the soul to kill the living human and wear their skin, making an Akuma. The more people an Akuma kills, the stronger they become until they level up and evolve."

"And what're you?" Zack asks, startling the other three after being silent for so long.

"We're people called Exorcists. We are apostles of God, chosen to destroy the Akuma by wielding weapons made of Innocence." Lenalee takes over explaining as Allen has gone back to his food, hoovering up the ramen at an alarming rate. Laila wonders if he ever gets sick from this.

"...Innocence?"

"Otherwise known as 'God's Crystal'. It chooses it's accommodator - the one who wields it - and let's them use it as a weapon to destroy Akuma. See, Allen's is his arm and mine are my anklets."

There's a moment of silence and Allen looks at Lenalee meaningfully before continuing his feast. Lenalee picks up on this and takes a breath.

"We think that one of you is an accommadator for the Innocence the Akuma today were looking for. It seems that you've already synchronised with it. Question is, which one." Lenalee finds herself staring at Laila and - though she feels terrible - almost wishes it is her. The other one, Zack, is so young perhaps even younger than Timothy, their youngest member. She'd prefer it if a kid like Zack didn't have to get involved in this seemingly never-ending war.

"So," She continues, fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket, "We're going to take you both back to HQ and have you both checked..."

"WHAT!?" Laila slams her hand in the table in shock and the other customers turn to stare at the group, disapproval etching their features. Slowly, they turn their gazes back to their bowls, full of ramen soup and steaming idly.

"My friends are here! I can't just _leave_. Plus, I _know_ it's not me! It's practically impossible."

"Why's that?" It's Zack who asks this time, staring at his new friend with a confused expression.

"I... I just can't be. I know I'm not. God hates me and I hate him, I've said this before."

"We'll return you to Tokyo after you've been tested and it proves you're not the accommodator."

"It's a twelve hour flight, though! My friends are probably already wondering where the hell I am and it'll take _days_ before you take me back. I can't leave with you people. We're leaving for London tomorrow morning anyway."

"Brilliant."

"...huh?" Laila turns to face the white-haired boy who'd spoken, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"HQ is near London. We'll just wait for you then." Lenalee nods her agreement and Zack shrugs.

"...Damn, you people are persistent. Fine! But when you find that it's not me, I'm leaving immediately, got it?" The Exorcists nod quietly.

"Good."

* * *

Laila opens the door to the shared hotel room quietly, silently hoping that no one was waiting up for her. She doesn't feel like getting gutted tonight. The room is dark and Laila can hear the heavy breathing of one of her friends who is currently passed out on the sofa. His arm hangs over the side of the couch, fingertips just scraping the laminate flooring and his spiky brown hair hiding his face. He suddenly snores loudly - causing Laila to squeak in fright - before turning over with a groan.

The tall black leather chair which Laila had fallen asleep in the night before, legs hanging over the armrests and head lolling off the side in a very awkward and unattractive position, is standing in the exact middle of the room, facing the large panoramic window overlooking the city and illuminated by a single, bare, lightbulb. The lampshade has been removed for some reason - probably to add effect - and Laila suddenly feels very wary. Slowly and with a slight squeak, the chair turns to reveal a small figure sitting with one bare leg crossed over the other and a stuffed toy cat on it's lap. It strokes it from its head down to it's tail casually.

"I see you made it back, Laila." It says in an almost sinister way and Laila shrieks.

"OH MY GOD."

"What did we tell you about getting yourself lost, Laila? We spent five hours looking for you."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING !?"

"He passed out Laila, " The figure says and points it's thin finger towards where the sleeping boy is sprawled on the sofa, mumbling in his sleep, "He thought you were dead. It took us another hour to calm him down after taking him to the hospital, Laila. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"...Sorry?"

"THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" The figure launches the toy cat at Laila and it hits her in the face which causes her to shriek again, waking the boy in the couch up and he lifts his head and glares at the two before plonking his head on the pillow again with a muffled "Shut the fuck up.."

"Sorry Curtis.." The figure whispers quickly before fixing it's blue-eyed glare on the terrified girl in the doorway.

"Please don't kill me.." Laila says after a moment's silence.

"That'd be too easy on you."

"No no no no no no no..."

"YES. Hey, before I mess you up, can you throw Mr Tiddles back to me please?"

"Sure." Laila picks Mr Tiddles up from the ground by his fluffy black and white tail and flings it back to the figure which catches the toy in it's hands before tucking the cat under it's right arm.

"Now, prepare to enter a _world_ of pain."

"Come at me."

Meanwhile, in the room next door, Allen, Lenalee and a still very traumatised Zack are attempting to catch some hours. The screaming from next door doesn't help with their endeavour. Lying on the cushy couch since he'd let Lenalee and Zack share the double bed, Allen can hear every word through the obviously paper thin walls. He sighs. It's going to be a very long night.

"GAH! GET OFF ME YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Laila's voice screams and a loud thump is heard as she hits the floor. Curtis chucks a pillow at the two and when he gets no reaction, hauls himself shakily to his feet, shuffles to another room - cushion and blanket in hand - and slams the door behind him.

SMACK.

"Owww!"

SMACK.

"You did NOT just punch me!"

SMACK.

"Dammit, Laila, that hurt!"

"Good."

* * *

The next morning is brutal as Allen, Lenalee and Zack drag themselves downstairs to where Laila'd said she'd be. After getting little more than two hours sleep, the Exorcists have some very noticeable bags beneath their eyes as they descend the stairs. Zack is practically dead on his feet, eyes blank and unfocused as he shuffles around. The fighting had gone on until little after two in the morning and with Laila's flight leaving at 7am and the group having to be at check-in an hour earlier, it's fair to say that the hotel reception was currently full of zombified teens.

"I can't believe you punched me in the mouth.." Laila hears her friend say from beside her, shovelling cereal into her open mouth.

"You're the one who gave me a massive bruise on my thigh, Luce. It's bloody PURPLE."

"It's your fault," Lucy replies, biting into a slice of toast and wincing as it touches her split lip, her long brown hair falling over her eyes, "You're the one who decided it'd be fun to go exploring, then get lost, then make Curtis pass out."

"..."

Across the table, scoffing a bacon roll with at least twelve packets of ketchup, sits Curtis, glaring at the two girls over the top of his food. He'd had barely any sleep during this whole trip and he's ready to kill something. His first victims most likely being the two girls who'd kept him up till all hours. Dark bags line his green eyes, his light brown spiky hair is all over the place and the little voice in his head mutters death threats directed at his tormentors.

"Are you alright Curtis? You seem...off."

"I hate you both." Curtis replies, causing both girls to instantly lean away and look at each other guiltily, "You're monsters."

"I think we should leave him alone, Luce. He looks ready to stab something."

"Yeah, that'd probably be for the best."

Curtis nods silently, his glare never wavering as he takes another bite.

Beside Curtis, another one of Laila's group of friends sits, laughing and eating his breakfast. Curtis shifts his glare to him and the boy instantly shuts up. Lucky him, he thinks. HE didn't wake up during the monsters' brawl. Finishing his roll, Curtis stands up without saying a word and moves to a nearby sofa which he proceeds to collapse upon. He passes out instantly.

Seeing a flash of white from the corner of her eye, Laila turns her head just in time to see the Exorcists dragging themselves along the corridor. She catches Allen's eye and notices the light bags underlining his eyes. Must've kept them up too, huh? Whoops. Laila mouths 'sorry' and Allen nods slowly in acknowledgment. The three sit themselves down a little away and Allen immediately makes for the buffet, loading two or three plates with food before carrying them back to the table. Then going back for more.

Curtis rolls over and falls off of the couch with a 'bump'. He doesn't wake up.

* * *

**A/N:- So...good? Bad? Please let me know how I'm doing! Any feedback is appreciated! How are my OC's so far? They're going to be a huge part of the story so.. please suggest to me things to make them better (if anything) since they're going to be around a lot! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:- Chapter four! Wow. **

**My cat gets really annoyed if I stay on my computer too long at night. He'll creep up to me and stick his face in mine then sit on the keyboard and just not move until I go to bed. He's glaring at me now. ...I'd better go... **

**Disclaimer:- I'm not Katsura Hoshino (big surprise) and I don't own -Man! **

* * *

"You wake him up."

"No..you."

"Oh, c'mon, Laila! Please?"

"Ugh, fine! Now..you..shoo." Laila dismisses Lucy with a wave of her hand and Lucy creeps off to sit on top of her violin case and watches from a safe distance.

Curtis is currently lying face down on the floor, arms and legs sprawled across the ground with his nose smooshed against the marble tiles. He'd gotten some pretty amazing looks from passersby but the looks sent to them by the 'monsters' had stopped them from waking him. After all, Curtis is the real monster when it comes to mornings.

"Oh, Curtis.." Laila sing and gently prods his shoulder with one finger, repeating the action a few times but getting no reaction.

"Come on now, sunshine. Rise and smell that...uh...morning air?" Curtis groans but doesn't wake up.

"God, are you even alive!?" Nothing. Jesus, this is hard.

"Ummm...OH MY GOD IT'S ANGELINA JOLIE!"

"WHERE!?" Curtis shoots up faster than the speed of light, looking around wildly for his crush since childhood. When he realises that his dream woman isn't here, he slowly turns his gaze to Laila who smiles nervously.

"Morning? Wow, I didn't expect that to work.."

"...you tricked me.." It comes out more like a growl than Curtis had wanted and Laila shrinks back and laughs nervously, glancing at Lucy desperately.

"Heheh, well, you've been asleep for a good half hour and, um, we need to go now so we don't..y'know, miss our flight."

Curtis hauls himself to a sitting position and looks around. Connell, the fourth member of the group is sitting cross legged on the couch he'd fallen off of, pressing buttons wildly on his DS console and muttering abuse at it every so often.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead." Connell grins, running a hand through his dark brown mop of hair then giving Curtis a thumbs up. An amused glint flashes through his violet coloured eyes.

"Shut up."

* * *

Allen and co. decided that they really weren't in the mood to endure a twelve hour flight so they decided to take the ark back to HQ. After a number of months under constant supervision, Allen Walker had finally gained Central's trust and his privacy back, prompting a huge celebration. He'd also got the permission to use the ark whenever he sees fit so..he doesn't bother with public transportation much anymore. The night before, Laila'd informed them of where to meet her and at what time she'd be there. Heathrow Airport at 11pm. Allen is relieved to know that he'd at least get a full nine hours worth of sleep when he finally gets back to the order.

After coffee, the three have perked up enough to wave Laila off as she clambers into a taxi alongside her friends. The taxi speeds off and out of sight. It's only then that it occurs to Allen that she could've been lying about her details. After all, she doesn't want to go to the Order and be checked for Innocence so...what've she gave them a fake location and a fake time to meet?

Shit..

Lenalee seems to be thinking the same thing as she looks at Allen, her brow furrowed and a troubled expression on her tired face.

"Allen..."

"I know."

"Well, she's gone now.. I suppose we'll just have to meet her at Heathrow like she said.."

"If she's even there.." Zack pitches in, standing beside Lenalee with a half-eaten jam bun in his hand.

* * *

"A potential host!?" Komui's voice echoes through the science department and the scientists all look up in shock. A new host? They haven't found one in so long!

"T-Two!? TWO POTENTIAL HOSTS!? Lenalee this is amazing!" Komui is almost crying tears of joy.

"What? You only have one with you? Why?"

The scientists look at each other. Reever shrugs at Johnny.

"She's on her way. Right.. What do you mean it might be fake?"

A pause. Silence.

"Okay, Lenalee, Allen. Track the girl down. Right, I'll see you both soon. Goodbye~!"

The line goes dead and Komui turns his seat to face the sea of curious faces.

"...Well?" Reever prompts and Komui smiles.

"Lenalee and Allen have found a host~! It's between two people. They're bringing them here as soon as the girl lands in London. Apparently, she had friends with her and didn't want them to know about it or something.."

Johnny's face breaks into a large smile and Reever looks delighted. Finally! A new exorcist! They really need as many as they can get!

"Looks like we'll need to organise another welcome party, huh?" Reever says and Johnny smiles.

* * *

**A/N:- So, how'd you like it? Good, bad, average? I'd really appreciate some reviews, good or bad! If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or things they'd like to see just mail me and I'll get back to you as soon as! :D **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:- Alright! Chapter 5! I know Laila seems a bit Mary-Sue right now but she won't be for long, I promise! XD **

**Hope you enjoy Chapter 5! **

**BRO FIST. **

* * *

Allen wakes with a start. Lenalee's face is about an inch away from his and he yelps in fright, backing against the wall and staring at the girl in front of him.

"Good to see you're up, sleepyhead!" Lenalee smiles and Allen continues to stare.

"W-Whats going on?" Allen says through bleary eyes and he shakes his head to clear it.

"We have to pick up Laila, remember? Now, get up lazybones!"

"What's with all the nicknames?"

"I've been hanging out with Lavi too much.." Lenalee scratches the back of her head and Allen nods before opening his mouth to speak.

"Where's Zack? Didn't he say he wants to come with us?"

"General Tiedoll is all over him right now and Timothy is delighted to have someone his age around so he's dragging Zack everywhere with him."

"Poor kid.."

Lenalee steps back as Allen hauls himself to a standing position and throws his exorcist jacket on over the top of his t-shirt. Shoving a hand through his hair, he yawns, looks at his bed longingly then smiles.

"Let's go." Lenalee nods.

* * *

They arrive at Heathrow Airport in plenty of time, walking through the doors to 'ARRIVALS' with twenty minutes to kill. Placing themselves inconspicuously in a booth in a nearby coffee shop, Lenalee buying the trio a cup of coffee (or apple juice, in Zack's case) and they cradle them in their hands and wait for their potential host to walk through the double doors.

It's been ten minutes. Allen's eyes have been trained on the dusty red doors since they'd sat down and they're starting to droop. He'd seen many different types of people pass through the lounge ranging from busy commuters with briefcases and suits hurrying along whilst glancing at their watches wildly to happy but exhausted families, the youngest child normally asleep in their pushchair as the oldest trails behind the parents whilst tugging a suitcase twice their size. The mom would be pushing the pushchair with a large backpack on her back and her hair scraped back into a messy bun as her husband walks alongside, easily pulling two suitcases behind him. It's funny the kind of people you see when you just...stop. Allen smiles and his eyes droop a little bit more.

"The UnitedKingdom Airway flight from Tokyo, Japan to London, Heathrow, will be delayed for a total of 1 hour due to weather conditions. We're sorry for any inconvenience."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"

It's been an hour. Allen is asleep. Zack's head is resting on his shoulder and his mouth droops open as he dreams. He snores softly. Lenalee sighs and goes to buy more coffee. God knows, she needs it. She wonders if she's going to be able to survive the next ten minutes. Thank God it's 24 hour service..

The double doors swing open and passenger after exhausted passenger drag themselves through and into the lounge. Zack has woken up and is now watching for Laila with Lenalee. Allen is slumped over in his seat, asleep. Lenalee had thought it best not to wake him. The two both sip on what seems to be their twenty thousandth coffee today and the caffeine gives them a much needed energy boost. A boy with green eyes, a khaki green backpack on his shoulder and a small, dark green case shuffles through the doors, holding it open for a small girl with brown hair and tired blue eyes. A violin case hangs on her shoulder and she runs her hand up and down the strap. She's muttering to the boy and he's nodding in agreement. The wheel of her pink, flowery case gets stuck on the door and she stops, sighs, then wrenches it free.

"I hate flying."

"Me too."

Another boy follows and his purple eyes scan the lounge before settling on the coffee shop. The others seem to have the same idea and they look at each other, all with the same thoughts. There's a person on top of the purple-eyed boy's back and he twists his head around to check on them before making for the shop, brown strands of hair getting in his eyes which he blows away irritably. He's pulling a black suitcase behind him and a dark blue backpack sits on top, next to the handle.

Lenalee watches as he follows his two friends - both of which are already at the counter, demanding coffee from the flustered cashier - but stops when the person moves. It shifts and a long strand of rust-coloured hair peeks out of what Lenalee now recognises as a navy-blue hood. The boy asks them something and they nod and he continues towards the coffee shop.

The boy doesn't pay much attention to the trio sitting in the opposite booth - maybe he's too tired to notice them - when he sits the person on a cushioned seat and dumps their luggage beside it before heading to the counter. They immediately flop over and groan, their head against the plasticky surface. The boy with the green eyes and the girl are already sitting down, gulping coffee and the boy shoves a blueberry muffin into his mouth almost savagely. Maybe this is what people are like when they get off a plane after a particularly long flight, Lenalee thinks as she watches the girl slam her cardboard coffee cup down to the table then stand up and demand another. Lenalee, herself, has never been on a plane as her boots are always much faster but, she wonders, is this kind of behaviour common?

"YO, COFFEE MAN! CARAMEL MACCHIATO! LET'S GO!" She claps her hands and the man immediately sets to work.

"GET ME A STRAWBERRY AND CREAM FRAPPUCCINO, PLEASE CONNELL!" The person suddenly yells and Lenalee whips her head around. She recognises the voice. Her eyes stray to the steady stream of passengers still shuffling themselves towards the coffee shop or the nearest couch, where they pass out for a couple minutes before going on their way.

"Coming up, Laila." The purple-eyed boy tilts his head in the person's direction before telling the cashier his order.

It's her.

Lenalee sets her eyes on the person. She sits up and her hood falls down and Laila's face is revealed, sporting very noticeable bags under her eyes. She's wearing black socks which reach up to her mid-thigh with a pair of baggy oxblood shorts and a black tank under her hoodie. She looks around and freezes when she notices the Exorcists. Catching Lenalee's eye, she smiles in acknowledgement and Lenalee nods in response.

"Ah! Right, I'm ready for home!" Lucy exclaims, leaning back on the squeaky seat and patting her stomach. Curtis muffles an agreement through a chocolate croissant. Connell returns with the order and sets it down on the able, Laila grabbing her drink and gulping it down hungrily. Connell picks his luggage up again and Curtis and Lucy do the same, Curtis slinging his backpack over one shoulder.

'RIIINNGG!...RIIINNNNGGGG!...RIIIINNNNNGGG!"

Laila fumbles in her pocket as her phone blasts out it's ringtone and she answers it quickly.

"Hello? Oh hey, Emily!" A pause. Curtis gives Laila a questioning look and she shrugs in response. Lenalee continues to watch, Zack by her shoulder.

"What? Are you sure?... What now? ... Okay, I'll be right over... Right, right, I'll stay with you tonight.. Fine, bye." Laila hangs up and shoves the phone back into her pocket with a sigh.

"Who was it?" Curtis immediately asks, fiddling with the tassel on his hoodie.

"My friend Emily. Her house got burgled and she wants me to stay with her tonight."

"Who's Emily?"

"Oh, you don't know her, just some old childhood friend. Don't worry, I'll just catch a taxi and call you when I get there." Laila smiles and stands up.

"Well...if you're sure.."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine."

Curtis, Connell and Lucy take their leave, flagging a taxi and waving a goodbye to their red-haired friend. As the shiny black taxi disappears around a corner, Lenalee approaches Laila and Laila looks at her. Zack isn't with her, sitting with Allen in the coffee shop still.

"Who's Emily?" Lenalee asks, eyes facing the sky and straining to see the stars which are concealed by the London smog. She frowns.

"No one. I made her up. I couldn't have them knowing that I could be a potential innocence accommodator or whatever." A car screeches somewhere in the distance, a police siren following soon after. Laila kicks a stone with her boot.

"Oh, right. Who did call you then? What if your friends do call?"

"It was my friend who didn't come with us to Tokyo - he had too much to do - checking in on us. I imagine he must be very confused right around now.. And, they won't. If they do, you'll just have to pretend to be Emily, is that alright?"

"Uh...sure." A couple of teenagers are loitering around outside the carpark, drunk and smoking, even their laughs seem slurred as they rest vodka bottles on their track suit covered thighs. One has a baseball cap on with a chunky gold chain around his thick neck and takes a long drag of his cigarette then taps the ash onto the pavement below nonchalantly. His friend steals his cap and he begins shouting at him to give it back.

"Are you alright?" Lenalee asks and Laila looks at her curiously, "About being a host. It must be rather overwhelming."

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm pretty certain it isn't me anyway so I'll be fine. Though, this whole thing is a bit...over my head."

"Mine too.

"Oi!" Both girls' head snap to the drunk teens immediately, "You're both pretty fit! Fancy getting your tits out for us lads, yeah?"

Lenalee's eyes widen at the track suit clad boy before her and Laila raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. Lenalee doesn't really know how to react, seeing as she's never been in this sort of situation before and ends up just standing there dumbly, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

Laila places a hand on Lenalee's frozen shoulder and catches the Exorcist's attention. She nods towards the airport, "We should go."

"...Yeah."

"Now jog on you dirty little twat." Laila sneers at the boy with a hard glare, distinct London accent emerging for a second then disappearing, and the boy immediately jumps and scurries off, chasing after his mates who are still throwing his hat around.

"Now that's all done.."

"How-?!"

"We should get going. I want to go home soon and hanging around here isn't getting me there any faster.. Let's just get this over with.."

"..okay."

* * *

**So what did you think? I hope you all liked it! :P **

**What do you think of Lucy, Curtis and Connell? I hope you like them 'cause they're going to be a big part of this story.. **

**Yeah, some boys in Britain are like that. Don't be surprised if you're foreign and you come to the UK and run into a boy like that. They're everywhere. :L **

**When I get off a plane, I'm exactly like this, running straight to some coffee shop and scaring the cashier. They probably think I'm a psycho. Oops.. **

**Please read and REVIEW! I'd love to wake up to one or two! :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:- Chapter 6! Okay, things start happening here and I know that previous chapters have been kind of slow and I'm sorry about that. But, the days are no more! *punches air* **

**Disclaimer:- I don't own D Gray Man and I am not Katsura Hoshino (shock!) **

**Read and review if you want to. I'd love it if you do! **

* * *

The ark gate opens quite suddenly in the middle of Komui's office, startling the line of scientists handing Komui paperwork to sign and causing Johnny to drop his stack with a yelp. Apologising, he immediately drops to his knees and begins to pick them up quickly. Reever sighs.

A bleary eyed Allen Walker stumbles through, Zack holding onto his hand tightly. Lenalee walks in next while Laila follows closely, her blue backpack slung over one shoulder and staring around the place in awe. Her gaze rests on a particularly large mountain of paperwork and she raises an eyebrow.

"You must be our second potential host! We're so happy to welcome you to the Black Order! Oh, Lenaleeeee! I'm so happy your back~!" Komui declares, arms thrown wide open and Laila rips her eyes away from the paper mountain to look at him. Lenalee sighs exasperatedly.

"Heh. Yeah, it's not me, though." Laila replies calmly, "Allen and Lenalee won't believe me. It's rather irritating, actually."

"Excuse me..?" Komui blinks, taken aback. Johnny's eyes widen.

"God hates me. So..it's not me. I'm pretty certain I'm not your accommodator."

"Well..there's no harm in checking, right? I am Komui Lee, head of the European Branch of the Black Order."

"Let's hope not. Good to meet you, sir. My name is Laila Lane. Have you already tested Zack?"

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Laila. No, he wanted to wait until you were here.. Shall we go now?" Laila nods and silently follows the supervisor from the room. Zack quickly latches himself onto Laila's hand and she smiles at him warmly. Allen and Lenalee follow closely behind.

* * *

Laila stares at the giant, tentacled...thing before her. It has a face and peers at her closely.

"Komui, who is this girl?" It suddenly asks and Laila blinks. What the hell is it?

"This is Laila Lane, Hevlaska. She's a potential Exorcist. Could you please test her for innocence?" Komui explains. Laila looks behind her to where Lenalee and Allen are standing with a waiting Zack. He'd been too frightened of Hevlaska to take the test, so Laila agreed to take it first, so he calms down. The kid seems really nervous, jumping at every slight sound and flinching at any sudden movements. The group take note to be careful around him.

"Of course, Komui. Though..."

"What's wrong, Hev?"

"There's something..odd about her..." Hevlaska stares at Laila confused and Laila meets her eyes. She raises one eyebrow challengingly. Hevlaska looks away, "I can't quite define what, however."

"Don't worry, Hev," Komui responds, smiling at the giant woman/creature/exorcist/thing..(?)

"The Innocence check will begin now. Please remain calm." Hevlaska's long white arms wrap around Laila's ankles and wrists and she drops her backpack to the ground with a thud. The group watches as the redhead is lifted into the air to face Hevlaska and the giant woman studies the girl for a moment. The room is silent. Hevlaska stares. Laila stares. It's like a silent showdown between the two until Hevlaska flips.

She suddenly shrieks. An ear-splitting, ground-shaking yell. She keeps screaming, thrashing around in pain, dropping Laila in the process, causing her to squeal in surprise as she hits the ground. Damn, that hurt..

"Hevlaska! What happened!?" Komui demands, worry lining his face as he yells at Hevlaska fruitlessly. Lenalee suddenly activates her innocence, shooting into the air and attempting to calm the screaming Exorcist down. It works.

"Hevlaska!" Lenalee yells, snapping her fingers. Allen shields Zack from the sight, confident that this won't make the boy take the Innocence test any sooner. Komui continues to shout and Laila just...lies there. It's been a long, hard day and she's tired from jet-lag and has just been dropped a good twenty feet by a raving exorcist called Hevlaska. Today's been a bad day.

Thinking she probably should get up, Laila props herself up on her elbows and watches as Hevlaska eventually calms down, Lenalee landing swiftly beside Allen again.

"Hev! What happened?! What's wrong?!" Komui looks on the verge of a breakdown as he shouts demands.

"T-That girl!" Hevlaska replies, breathing heavily, "S-She's not an Exorcist!"

Allen notices the small Innocence fragments glowing brightly inside her body, shaking violently as if reacting to something badly then slowly becoming still again. That must be what's causing her so much pain, he figures, his left arm still over Zack's face.

"Noah! That girl is a Noah! A member of the Noah Clan!" Time seems to stop at Hevlaska's declaration. Allen and Lenalee stare at Laila with a look of utter confusion and disgust. Komui seems beyond shocked, eyes wide and round, jaw nearly to the floor. Zack looks confused. He looks at the faces of the group and decides that whatever a 'Noah' is, it can't be good. But...Laila. She sits upright now, sock-covered legs stretched out in front of her and smooths her rumpled shorts down. She looks kind of helpless, sitting there.

Suddenly, in a blur of shouts and heavy footsteps, the room is stormed by the generals, followed closely by Inspector Rouvellier and Link, who is looking anxious. Laila seems spooked, backing up a little and grabbing her bag. What's happening?

A blonde woman and an elderly man catch her under the arms, hauling her up and ignoring her struggling easily. Another, one in a grey mask and a creepy grin, stalks up to her, jabbing something sharp against her neck painfully.

"Noah, huh? Think you've got guts breaking into HQ? I'll slice you to pieces!"

Laila swallows. Oh my god..

"I think now's a good time to kill the bitch," He goes on, earning himself a pointed glare from Laila after being called a bitch. He doesn't even know her! Talk about rude..,"Don't you think, Klaud, Tiedoll. Before she has the chance to call any of her buddies! Hahahaa" The guy's smile spreads into an insanely wide grin at the prospect of killing her and Laila gulps again.

She just wants to go home.. That's all. It's just one damn thing! Why'd she decide to come with these freaks again? Oh that's right, because she's a huge idiot, that's why.

"Is it true?" Lenalee's voice reaches Laila's ears and she turns her head towards where the three others stand. Lenalee looks surprisingly hurt. The creepy guy stands back after Rouvellier scolds him but keeps one black eye on Laila constantly. It's weird.

"Answer me, Laila. Is it true? Are you really a Noah?"

Silence. It takes Laila the longest time to answer, mainly because the creepy masked guy is jabbing the sharp weapon at her throat again, drawing a small drop of blood which trails down her neck. Eventually, she sighs.

"I told you it wasn't me.."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:- Hey, I'm back! To be honest, this chapter took me so long to write. I kept getting bored halfway through..so, sorry about the wait. Thank you to all of my reviewers, followers and er... favouriters (is that a word?) They all mean a lot! **

**Review if you want to though I'd appreciate it if you did. They fuel my motivation fire. Please tell me what you think and if you have any suggestions to help me improve, please leave 'em in the review box! :D **

**Disclaimer :- If I owned DGM, the anime wouldn't have ended.**

* * *

Where the hell is this?

...

...

Ugh, it's dark. Laila looks around thoughtfully, having just woken up. The creepy guy with the mask whacked her on the head earlier and, honestly, it'd hurt a bit. Upon moving her foot, she hears the sound of a chain and the links banging together. The only source of light is the small window into the outside world where the evening sun is shining through the thick metal bars. The chains around her feet are fixed into the wall and are keeping the appendages at rather odd angles. Letting her head fall against the wall, she sighs heavily and it echoes around the cell, breaking the silence. Somehow, she manages to fall asleep again, her back pressed against the stone wall and her feet at weird and painful angles.

When Miranda and Chaoji open the door to the cell, they are surprised to find the Noah fast asleep. The light shines on her slouched form and her face scrunches up with the disturbance but she soon relaxes again. Miranda creeps into the cell, producing a large silver key from her breast pocket. However, Chaoji strides in, snatches the key from Miranda's grasp rudely and proceeds to shake the girl awake. He grabs her shoulders and begins shaking her roughly, her head banging against the wall as he does so. She yelps in pain and opens her eyes, glare piercing Chaoji's soul and the man recoils at her reaction. To be fair, nobody would be happy with that kind of rude awakening.

"What. Do. You. Want?" She grinds out through her teeth, hair hanging over her face and giving the girl an even more threatening look. She reaches behind her head where it slammed into the wall and brings the hand back around to look at it. Her fingers are splotched with red and Laila brings her glare up from the blood to Choaji, looking directly into his eyes. Miranda keeps her distance.

"Noah," Chaoji begins, taking a breath, "I am to take you to Supervisor Komui for interrogation. If you don't cooperate, I'll be forced to harm you." Chaoji crosses his arms and speaks sternly, only earning an amused "Heh" from the captive. Laila raises an eyebrow and yawns, obviously unimpressed.

"You woke me up so horribly just to tell me that? How rude.."

"I am not rude, Noah. Now, get up."

"Hah, right. How do you suppose I do that when my legs are chained to the wall and you have the key?" Laila asks innocently and Chaoji can feel himself going red with frustration, "Also, I have a name. It's Laila. Laila Lane. Please use it, _exorcist_."

Chaoji grits his teeth and Laila smirks, knowing she's won this round. Well, that's until Chaoji pulls a syringe out from his jacket pocket, examining it closely before drawing closer to her. She wonders what he's doing.. Get away.. He chuckles a little before grabbing her arm and wrenching her forward.

"What are you doing!? Get away from me! What is that stuff!?" Laila shrieks, trying to yank her arm from the exorcist's grasp but his grip is rock solid and there's no way in Hell that she's getting away from this guy. He doesn't even break a sweat keeping her restrained and jabs the needle into her vein expertly. She yelps, still trying to free herself and terribly alarmed and aware of the fact she'd just been _injected_ with something weird. Laila's vision suddenly becomes a bit hazy and she can barely make out the fat exorcist's form as he draws back on his heels and unlocks the chains on her feet. He stands up and bends over her, suddenly grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder roughly. Miranda is tossed the key again and she apologises, like, sixteen times for dropping it. Chaoji sighs, carrying the Noah from the cell.

She can't move. Like, not at all. Her limbs feel heavy and she can't speak and she's suddenly extremely tired. She can barely see anymore and dark spots begin creeping into her vision, obscuring the woman exorcist's face. Eventually, she can't fight the tiredness anymore and the world fades to black.

* * *

Komui and Head Nurse stand side by side, looking at the body of Laila Lane. She's not dead, just unconscious, and in her underwear. Yeah. Komui figures he's gonna have a hard time explaining that one away.

"She has several stretch marks on her inner thighs, most likely from puberty.." Head Nurse continues, flipping through her notes, "She's also significantly underweight. We should have her eat something nutritional whilst she's here. Other than that she's perfectly healthy. Also, she has a tea-stain birth mark on her right side, see where the pigmentation of the skin is lighter?"

Komui nods and takes the clipboard from Head Nurse and flips through the sheets full of data. Wow, they'd been rather thorough. They have everything to her hair colour to her shoe size on here.

_Hair Colour - Red_

_Eye Colour - Brown_

_Weight - 92lbs_

_Height - 5'1 _

_Approximate Age - 15 to 16 _

_Shoe Size - UK 5_

_Chest Size - 30 E _

_Notes - Significant scarring on abdomen, back and shoulder blades. Ages vary from seven to two years old. All fully healed. Large bruise on left thigh. Puberty induced stretch marks on inner thighs. Tea-stain birth mark on right side of abdomen. Underweight. Slightly malnourished. _

"Scarring?" Komui looks to Head Nurse for an explanation and she nods before beckoning him to follow her.

"See? Here, here and here," Head Nurse points out several long, silvery scars along Laila's stomach and after rolling her over slightly, several more on her back, running along her shoulder blades.

"Some look red and angry but others seem fully healed. The ages vary from about seven years ago to not even two years."

"Were they self-inflicted?" Komui asks, pushing his glasses a little further up the bridge of his nose, eyes on a particularly nasty looking scar.

"Judging by the trajectory and angle of some, I wouldn't think so, no. However, whoever or whatever has inflicted them, used a variety of weapons to do so. Some were caused by a knife whilst others by a whip or a belt perhaps. Some were given by other sharp objects such as screwdrivers and other similar tools and you see the circular scars?" Komui nods and Head Nurse looks rather sad, "They were from cigarette burns. Someone put their cigarettes out on her. Probably as a form of torture."

Komui can't believe what he is hearing. Although she's a Noah, he can't help feeling incredibly sorry for Laila Lane as she lies there in her blue bra and pants, her scars visible for all the world to see. Has she been abused? If so, who by? The Noah? Parents? Significant other? He'd have to try and find out. A flicker of her eyelids alerts Komui that she's about to wake up. He can't imagine she'll be too happy.

Why am I freezing?! Is Laila first coherent thought since that fat shit Chaoji or whatever his name is stuck that fucking needle in her. Ugh. She feels like crap. Why is it so goddamn bright?! What is with these strobe lights?! Opening her eyes a bit more, she comes face to face with an unknown male. She yelps a bit with fright and he smiles a little. Wait..she knows him. Ah! Komui! Lenalee's brother! Okay, feeling slightly less threatened. She groggily raises a hand to her forehead and groans.

"Ungh."

"Glad to see you're awake, Laila. This is Head Nurse, she'll explain why you're here." He gestures to an older woman beside him who gives her a smile and wraps a blanket around Laila's shoulders after she helps her sit up.

"WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES!?" Laila is staring down at her non-clothed body in dismay and utter shock, mouth agape and eyes wide.

"OH MY GOD WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!? NO WONDER I WAS FREEZING!" She pulls the blanket further around her shoulders and pulls her knees up to her chest protectively. The look in her eyes demands an explanation.

"Ah, yes. I am Head Nurse of the Infirmary of the Black Order. You're here so we could perform a proper check over on you. Looking for weapons, scars, birth-marks or anything else significant, understand?" Laila nods, "It just made it easier on us to check you over without your clothes getting in the way. But..." Head Nurse trails off when she looks at the empty table. Where are the girl's clothes?!

"But...?" Laila prompts, waving her hand slowly in encouragement.

"But, I think someone has taken your clothes to the laundry by accident. I shall..find something else for you to wear in the meantime."

"Oh, um..okay. Thank you. Can't I just get something from my bag?"

"Your bag is being analysed by the science department." Komui answers and blinks when Laila sniggers. Head Nurse wanders off to find something.

"You're analysing my _bag_? Trust me, you won't find anything interesting in there. Just clothes and my laptop, phone, iPod and things. Normal."

"We can't be too careful."

"What? Is this because I'm a Noah?"

"Of course."

"Oh. I see."

"Here, wear this in the meantime." Head Nurse tosses Laila a dark green article and she catches it clumsily. It's a t-shirt. A male's t-shirt. Shrugging, she slips it on and it reaches to the top of her thighs, just covering what it needs to. Hopping off of the table, she follows Komui, holding her wrist firmly, through the long corridors, earning a few weird looks from passerbys and she self-consciously pulls the hem of the t-shirt down a little more. Fuck sake..

"Hey, Komui, isn't that my t-shirt?" Laila looks up from the floor and sees a boy standing opposite them, a confused expression on his face. He tugs at the bandana keeping his red hair back and slides it slightly further down his forehead. Weirdly, he has a eyepatch covering his right eye and Laila wonders what happened to it. But...dayum, he's HOT.

"Uh, Lavi, this is Laila Lane," Komui replies, gesturing to the girl who waves nervously. She's always had a 'thing' for redheads, "Her clothes were accidentally taken down for laundering with the other patients' so, she's wearing your t-shirt in the meantime, if you don't mind."

Lavi blinks. He looks at Laila, wearing his t-shirt, standing slightly behind Komui and watching him carefully. She tugs at the hem of the t-shirt in a hopeless attempt to cover more flesh. His eyes travel down her body, taking in the milky pale skin and the exposed thighs. His t-shirt looks huge on her thin frame.

"Uh..sure, Komui. I will get it back, right?"

"Of course."

Lavi places a hand in his hip and stays quiet for a second, "So you're the Noah girl, right?"

"That's me.." Laila shifts on her feet, hands still on the hem of the t-shirt.

"Allen and Lenalee told me about you.. Said you came here on your own. I don't understand.. Why would you pretend to be a potential host? Why wouldn't you just kill all of them? You had the perfect opportunity.."

"Don't be an idiot." Lavi blinks at the glaring girl in front of him and Komui's eyes dart from one teenager to the other, "I'm not some sick bitch like Tyki. I wouldn't kill a kid.. That's awful."

"...Tyki Mikk? Tyki Mikk's a sick bitch?" Lavi blinks, almost laughing out loud and he tries desperately to suppress the amused smile that has risen to his lips.

"Damn right. He's the whiniest, bitchiest little shit I've ever met in my life. Always complaining about something.. 'Don't bother me, Laila, I'm reading!' or 'Quit hiding my cigarettes, Laila, I _want_ to kill mine and everyone else's lungs!'" She waves her hands as she lowers her voice an octave, imitating Tyki Mikk's mocking tone. Lavi loses it then, doubled over laughing and even Komui cracks a smile. Wow. They did not expect to know _that_ much about the infamous Noah. Lavi remembers fighting him and basically being demolished by the older man. Ugh. That fight had left his broken arm in bits and _then_ having to fight Skin Bolic and Road Kamelot afterwards was...ridiculous, to say the least.

Noah or not, Lavi likes the newcomer.

* * *

The science division have been inspecting the Noah Girl's bag and it's contents for the good part of an hour. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Just clothes and various devices such as an iPod and an iPhone. The phone had been surprisingly easy to get into, Johnny getting the passcode in his third try. There were only twenty-five combinations, after all. He's currently scrolling through her emails, not finding anything particularly interesting. Then one catches his eye.

'_YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN CONF...' _

Raising an eyebrow, he clicks it and almost dies on the spot. When he drops the phone, Reever looks over and picks it up, looking at Johnny weirdly, "What's up with you?" He wonders and Johnny just gestures to the phone.

"Read the email."

"Um..okay.."

Reever looks at the screen and raises his eyebrows and begins laughing.

_"YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! YAY! 3"_ He reads out, his eyes moving back and forth as he does so,

_"YOUR ORDER CONTAINED :- _

_Polka dot plunge bra x1 _

_Three cup sizes bigger! Padded bra in black x1 _

_Push up balcony bra in purple x1 and navy x1..."_ Reever can feel his face heating up,

"She's bought matching underwear with it.." Reever adds, not bothering to read out the rest of the order,_ "YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN SHIPPED AND SHOULD ARRIVE WITHIN 3-5 WORKING DAYS. _

_SUBTOTAL:- £35.00_

_THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH US!" _

Reever exits the email quickly, considering it was accompanied with pictures of girls modelling the order and scrolls down her notes instead. Laila only has about..five notes and Reever clicks on the first one.

'_Christmas Presents.' _

_Road - Anything Lolita. Purple, pink, FRILLS. Psych evaluation...'_ Reever chuckles at the last one.

_Wisely (Shaniqua) - Video games. Shit ton of junk food. Encyclopaedia of the world. What is he? _

_Debitto - Music. New guitar picks 'cause he keeps complaining about his broken one. iTunes gift card. Books. _

_Lulubell - a years supply of milk and kitty litter. _

_Tyki (man whore / my bitch) - Pamphlet on safe sex. Nicotine pads. Fake cigarettes. Beer. Um...pack of cards? Convince Allen Walker to let him win at Poker. _

_Cyril - Own personal therapist. Books on good parenting. _

_Jasdero - Should I?_

_Earl - New top hat to add to his ridiculous collection_.

"IS THAT MY PHONE!?" Laila's sudden shout startles Reever and he drops the device and Laila disappears for a millisecond, reappearing suddenly across the room and catching her phone successfully, hugging it to her body. What was that? Lavi and Komui look at where Laila was once standing, beside them. Was that...was that teleportation? Woah.

"What the hell were you doing with my phone!? How'd you even get into it, it was passcoded!"

Upon not receiving an answer, Laila proceeds to look at her stuff scattered across the science department. Her change of clothes and her pyjamas are sitting folded up on Komui's desk, her iPod is hooked up to a computer and she can hear the faint sound of it playing. Her bag of toiletries, make-up and perfume is sitting on top of the pile of clothes and her laptop is sitting open, another scientist tapping at it's keyboard. She's not sure how she feels about this. Deciding that protesting would be vain, she sighs and straightens up and walks towards where her clothes are sitting. The scientists and Lavi watch as she pulls her skinny jeans from the pile and pulls them onto her legs with a huff of breath. After doing so, she plops down onto the sofa, taking her knees up to her chest and curling her feet in on themselves.

"Sir, have you ever heard of London Arts? A school of performing arts in the centre of London...it's the homepage on the Noah's laptop." An unknown scientist speaks up from his position in front of Laila's laptop and Komui shakes his head in reply, turning to Laila for an explanation.

"London Arts is the school that I attend. I _was_ planning on returning there tonight, if that's possible. My friends are waiting for me."

"We'll see," Komui says curtly, sitting down at his desk as Lavi hovers nearby, "Now, why don't you tell us a little more about this school, please?"

"Sure. I've attended for two years and I do a singing and playing course there. We were in Japan for a week for this exchange programme thing that our school does with it's sister school in Tokyo. It was fun!"

"That isn't exactly the question I was asking.."

"...?"

"Tell me about the school."

"Erm...it's awesome. It's an optional boarding school so I share a room with my friend Lucy. My teacher is called Mr Hunnyson but everyone calls him Mr H or Hunny. Uhmm... Wisely and Debitto also attend and - "

"Wait! They're Noah, correct? Why do they attend?"

"Well, at first, the Earl didn't trust me at all because I refused to give up my human life for some war that I'm not even a part of. Also, because my previous incarnation had a string of connections with the Fourteenth and helped him bring about his rebellion. She even let herself be killed by him, I think, the memory isn't exactly clear.. So, the Earl told them to supervise me and make sure I don't become a traitor, like Neah. That meant they had to follow me to school and...they've attended ever since. I think they actually enjoy it."

"What do they do there? Doesn't Debitto have a friend who he's always with?"

"Twin. Debitto has a twin, Jasdero. They don't look too much alike, actually," Laila corrects, smiling, "Wisely has never ever gone to school before. Hell, he's only just learnt to read properly and still sometimes comes to me like "what does this word say?" so he's been taking extra classes after school and stuff. He's really dedicated and wants to learn as much as he can which is really admirable. My friend Connell roped them into joining his band and now the three of them are one of the top ranking at school, but, they're looking for a fourth member."

"Isn't Wisely the Noah of Wisdom? Isn't he meant to be the smartest out of you all?" Komui asks, watching Laila carefully.

"Well, yeah. But, Wisely has never gone to school because...well, he was homeless. Had been since he was five and his mother...well... so he's never gotten an education. He's smarter in creativity and initiative rather than academics."

"A BAND!?" Lavi suddenly exclaims finding the claim to be so unbelievable and Laila just smiles at him before rolling her eyes amusedly.

"It _is _a music school, Lavi. You can't expect them _not_ to do any music." Lavi suddenly feels rather stupid and looks away.

"Tell me, what are your relationships with the Noah Family?"

"They're just that, family. I don't really have a real one so they're the closest I've got. They mean a lot to me."

"What about individual members?" Komui continues.

"Such as?"

"Let's start with Wisely."

"Hm, okay. Wisely is one of my best friends and probably the one I'm closest to in the family next to Road and Debitto. We transformed into Noah round about the same time so we were there for each other through the IMMENSE pain of the whole thing. Wisely is hilarious, too, always tripping over his own turban and falling on his face. Haha, I eventually bought him a bandana instead after he burst his nose on a staircase. During the transformation, the Earl didn't allow anyone to visit us so we were alone through the whole thing.. Wisely's transformation was faster than mine so he sorta cared for me whilst I caught up. He's my rock," Laila pauses for thoughts, "I honestly don't know what I'd do without him and his constant worrying over me. Always asking where I am, making sure I don't accidentally kill myself or get into too much trouble and if I do, he's always there to back me up. He's absolutely lovely. Such a nice person."

"Could've fooled me.." Reever mutters under his breath and Laila looks at him with a strange expression on her usually cheerful face.

"Have you ever actually spoken to him properly? If not, how can you possibly know what he's like? He was in bits after that whole attack on the North American Branch, you know.. Couldn't talk about it for weeks." Laila continues to look at him and Reever fidgets before apologising, earning a nod.

"None of you know any of 'em... So, none of you can judge weather they're good people or not, despite the awful things they've done. It's not exactly by choice.." Laila looks a bit upset so Komui tries to switch subjects.

"Tell me about Road Kamelot."

"...Road is fucking mental. I swear, she'll be the death of me," Laila is smiling again, "I honestly think she's a psychopath, always trying to dress me up and stick horrible ribbons in my hair. She drags me to sweet shops _all the time_. I'm surprised she's not obese with the amount of shit that she eats. But, in general, she's a good person. She's not exactly shy, either as she also has a crush on a certain exorcist... " Laila laughs and Lavi pales, having flashbacks to that time they were in the ark and Road basically raped Allen right there.

"Tyki Mikk."

"What a whore! He's forever out drinking with his mining buddies and one morning, he stumbled into the ark without a shirt - he'd lost it - and he had _SCRATCH MARKS_ on his back so me and Road were like "OHHHHH!" Laila laughs, covering her mouth with her hand, "He smokes a lot so Road and I always hide his cigarettes 'cause they smell terrible. I've bought him nicotine pads to help him quit but he hasn't used them, I don't think. Hey, wait, after he got stabbed by Allen Walker, he hasn't smoked so many which is awesome since it doesn't stink the ark out. But, aside from the manwhoring and smoking and drinking, Tyki is a lovely person. He's really kind and is one of the more...normal members of the family. He suppresses his Noah a lot, like me, as he doesn't want to have to leave his human life. He doesn't want to die in this war that has nothing to do with him so he fights really hard to protect himself. I asked him why once and he told me he has a lot to protect."

"Like what?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, that's certainly interesting. What about the twins? Jasdebi?"

"Well...it's just Debitto, right now. Jasdero's still around, sure, but...not really. Debitto cares about 'Dero a lot and gets really protective over him. But, Jasdero is real sick and Debi is a mess over it."

"What kind of illness does he have? Anything serious?"

"Yeah. He has a brain tumour that's been slowly growing over the past five years and eating away at his brain. Also, the Innocence poisoning didn't help at all. Ever notice how childish he acts? It's because parts of his brain has been destroyed and right now he has the mentality of a five year old. He relapsed last week and hasn't woken up yet. Debi hasn't left his bedside, not even to eat or go to school so I've been bringing him food and stuff. Wisely has been monitoring his brain activity and there's just...nothing. We've told Debi but he refuses to believe it, still determined that Dero will wake up a some point but the rest of...the rest of us know that this is it. He's gonna be...gone soon. The thing is, since they're the Noah of Bonds, we don't know what'll happen to Debi when Dero dies."

"I'm sorry but I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, Laila. How would Jasdero's death affect Debitto?" Komui raises an eyebrow and Lavi listens intently, riveted.

"The Noah of Bonds are supposed to be together. Forever. None of us know what'll happen if one dies and the other lives.. we don't know whether the Noah Gene will kill Debitto as well when Jasdero passes. That's why Debi is determined that Dero will wake up one day...one half is that he's his brother, the only remaining member of his family and he loves him, the other half is that...he's terrified of what'll happen if Jasdero dies."

"That's certainly sad," Komui says, watching Laila as she looks at the ground. Lavi studies her as well, the way she clasps her hands and lowers her head as she talks about the twins' potential death. She seems a little upset.

"Yeah. It is. But, there's nothing we can do. We've taken 'Dero to countless doctors and hospitals and they all say the same thing. That the tumour is terminal and that he had less than a month to go. That month is almost up..and...and Debitto isn't coping at all."

The room is quiet, the atmosphere seeming to have become quite heavy. Laila looks sad and Lavi looks at her pityingly. But, she's a Noah! He shouldn't want to feel sorry for her. He should want her to suffer. Why is Lavi like this?

"Brother! Coffee~!" Lenalee's cheerful voice comes from outside and she appears in the doorway with a small tray filled with coffee mugs in her hands. Allen appears behind her with a tray of his own, smiling sheepishly.

"Ohhhhh! LENALEE~! You're such a perfect little sister, thinking of your dear brother even in desperate times such as these~!"

"It's not that big a deal, brother, honestly.." Lenalee sighs happily, handing her brother his coffee who shrieks a thank you and Allen follows her faithfully to where the other scientists are working. Laila notices that they keep shooting her glances occasionally.

God, she's so tired. She hasn't had a sleep since the whole twelve hour flight from Tokyo, after all. Well, except for when Chaoji had drugged her but that was more like a weird, surreal, kind of dream rather than a sleep. She hadn't even realised she was asleep until she'd woken up and Komui had been leering over her like some creepy perv. ...it's nice and warm in here.. Maybe if she can just curl up and -

"Laila! Answer the question!" Snapped out of her sleep-centred thoughts, Laila turns her head to where the man and the Exorcists are standing. Allen and Lenalee are watching her intensely and Lavi just looks curious.

"...what?"

"What are the future plans of the Millenium Earl? What does he intend?"

"...ugh. No way, man. The Earl's a funny guy.. Never really sharing his thoughts and plans with anyone. Not since the Fourteenth betrayed his trust. He says it's none of our concern until he needs us to do something. So...basically, I don't know."

Komui looks less than pleased and turns to talk to the three Exorcists, leaving Laila to herself. She rests her head against the soft cushion of the sofa and sighs deeply. She's on the verge of sleep, in that place where your thoughts get hazy and you feel all dizzy. Over-tiredness, Connell calls it. Which makes no sense since Laila has been doing nothing but sleeping since she got here. Ah, fuck it. The next time the group of Exorcists and scientist look over, they find an unconscious Noah, curled up against the plush red cushion with her eyes closed. Lavi laughs as Komui slams his face to his desk.


End file.
